From the Floodplain

Taking respite in this blog after a very eventful seven days, to briefly ponder the unfamiliar experiences and transfixing images of flood in my home town of Brisbane.

Everything is still evolving and distilling, I suspect, for a large proportion of the people of Brisbane affected, directly or indirectly. One week after the first notice of flood came through, most are finally drawing back breath after what has been a “flash flood” in every sense: especially in the lightning intensity and speed of both the cruel impact and the rousing turnaround.

It’s still raw. People are fatigued and have been singularly focussed on the less than ideal present circumstances; postponing any deep thought and at times, feeling and emotion to a later date; to do all those practical things that need to be done in the moment – labouring, cleaning and making varied individual contributions to remedy the dislocation and hastily restore some degree of normal function.

It’s been an outstanding collective response to a shared challenge.

From time to time cities and States are tested. The big city based conflicts of the 20^th Century immediately come to mind: Pearl Harbour, the Battles of Britain and Stalingrad and more recently, the September 11 attacks in New York, as profound examples.

Brisbane looks like a warzone in parts, and it has been the “war-like” response in terms of commitment to the task at hand, coupled with the altruism and compassion for one’s fellow brothers and sisters that that has been so heartening.

For it is not a Government or a Council or a system that gets tested in a freak catastrophe like this, so much as a people… Of course we look to our leaders in such times and to their credit, in this crisis, several have been impressive. But when the lights go out and danger is on your doorstep, what it boils down to is: how will the people rally?

This has been a defining moment in the life of this city and Brisbane is asserting its character and its standards for the future, like it did through the floods of 1974 and 1893 and in wartime, in superb fashion. What is compelling about this experience is that it has revealed in our community, an underlying care. A care for our city and for our fellow Brisbanites. While it is not always on show, or openly expressed, it is events such as these that confirm our inherent hope and confidence that this spirit exists and that we will rise, under fire.

We are a big city now which has presented new challenges. But it has become apparent that we have kept the best elements of the “big country town” ethos too – like the readiness to help your neighbour without needing to say anything; inviting strangers to live in your home and have a meal with you; the ability to go back to basics very quickly and even enjoy it.

Our resolve and gritty determination to clean ourselves up has been inspiring – the fighting qualities of Queenslanders have been on show. I’d like to think that despite the obstacles we have been able to keep a sense of humour amidst adversity also – which has been a powerful Australian quality throughout the generations...

Driving around the streets late yesterday I was moved by how amazing the collective effort has been to clean up homes in such short time. Yes the work will be ongoing for a lot longer, but we must take heart not only in how well we are repairing in a physical sense, but what we are, at the same time, building into our city, into our community and into the character of our people.

A week ago, early on Tuesday morning, I was on my way to work and got a call from my brother to say that the shed at Bulimba where the family keeps two boats was going to flood and that I needed to help him move them. It’s been pretty dynamic ever since.

My close family and I can consider ourselves very lucky, with narrow misses in Yeronga, Rosalie, Sth Brisbane and Fairfield – all areas that saw considerable damage. My Hope Street office missed flood waters by 2cm and would have surely been inundated had the levels reached those predicted.

Whilst it can be numbing to see the destruction wrought through Brisbane and the at times muted agony in the faces of those directly hit by the pungent, brown water, it is simply that – brown water - and the people have proved that. Brisbane has grown and will move forward, stronger, more awake and more connected to its environment than before.

As Churchill said in his famous “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” Speech of 1940:

“We have before us an ordeal... We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering… But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."

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